Virginia Weiss was the first female attorney in Licking County. / Submitted photo

Written by

Jerry Satterfield

For The Advocate

Next week’s question

In 1953, Licking County took a step forward by hiring its first female attorney.

Virginia Weiss came to Newark to set up a law practice after graduating from the Solman P. Chase School of Law in Kentucky.

She set a lot of firsts in Licking County: She became the first female prosecuting attorney in 1964, the first female probate and juvenile judge from 1974 to 1979, and the first female president of the Licking County Bar Association.

The people who worked for her said she was strong willed and could be a difficult woman to work for at times; they also marveled at her confidence and determination.

In 1974, Gov. John J. Gilligan appointed her to fill an unexpired term as probate and juvenile judge, a position she held until Feb. 7, 1979.

In January 1977, The Newark Advocate and WCLT Radio filed a lawsuit in common pleas court to have “full access” to the arrest logs and jail register of the Newark City Jail in regard to juveniles. The Advocate argued it was only investigating the police department’s handling of the juveniles and did not want to put their names in the paper.

Weiss did not see it that way and had the files delivered to her home. She stated that she would shred the logs if necessary to keep the names from appearing in the newspaper. She guarded the names so the paper could not “harass them and smear their names on the front page.”

After her years as judge, she returned to private practice and served on boards of the Starlight School, Newark City Schools and the Licking County Joint Vocational School.

She also became president of the Licking County Humane Society because of her love of animals. Her favorite poodle, Peter Moses, used to sit on her lap while she presided over court.

She died in March 1995 but left a provision and a trust fund to take care of her surviving poodle, Petey Pete.

Jerry Satterfield is a lifelong Newark resident, retired from Rockwell and volunteers for the Licking County Historical Society.